When: Feb. 17, 2016 | 5-7:30 p.m.
Where: The Prince Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Stanley Nelson may have spent eight years making his latest film, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, but it took only two hours to capture the attention of millions around the globe. Premiering Tuesday night on PBS’ Independent Lens, the documentary sparked the No. 1 trending Twitter hashtag—#BlackPanthersPBS—in the world.
The next night, Media Impact Funders (MIF), in collaboration with the Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia, hosted Nelson for a special gathering at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia. Nelson and Norris West, director of strategic communications for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, engaged in a wonderful dialogue about the Panthers, Nelson’s body of work, battling racism, promoting diversity, and more in front of a packed house of appreciative funders and media professionals. The event served as the opening reception for the Media Consortium’s annual conference, whose theme this year centered on race and equity.
The Black Panthers documents the rise and dissolution of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s through the eyes of the party’s rank-and-file members, as well as lawyers, journalists, police officers, and FBI agents. Watch it here.
Here are some highlights from the discussion:
“Black Panthers in my community was something everybody talked about” –@NorrisWest #MIFocus
— Media Impact Funders (@MediaFunders) February 17, 2016
Documentaries have the power to inspire. It’s important they are done right. -Norris West #TMC2016 #mifocus
— amalia (@guatemalia) February 17, 2016
“His films have really provoked thought and action.” –@NorrisWest on @StanleyNelson1‘s body of work #MIFocus
— Media Impact Funders (@MediaFunders) February 17, 2016
Magic on stage now w @firelightmedia @StanleyNelson riding wave of last night’s triumph #BlackPanthersDoc @ #MIFocus
— Sue Schardt (@Schardt) February 17, 2016
Stanley Nelson:” the Panthers started as an issue of police brutality” #TMC2016 #blackpanthersdoc #mifocus
— Jo Ellen GreenKaiser (@jgksf) February 17, 2016
“People want to see the #BlackPanthers as a separate thing, but they are a piece of the civil rights movement.” –@stanleynelson1 #MIFocus
— Media Impact Funders (@MediaFunders) February 17, 2016
Question from @RKHarrisPhD: What do you say to someone who tries to equate black power with white power? #MIFocus
— Media Impact Funders (@MediaFunders) February 17, 2016
.@StanleyNelson1: Black power for black ppl. White power for white ppl. Yellow power for yellow ppl. Brown power for brown ppl. #MIFocus
— Media Impact Funders (@MediaFunders) February 17, 2016
“Funding always a struggle,” @StanleyNelson1. “W/state of journalism now, doc films r sometimes only real journalism out there” #MIFocus
— Julie Drizin (@JDriz) February 17StaFrom